Caroline and the Burglar
by Eliza-81
Summary: When a burglar breaks into Caroline’s apartment he also breaks open hidden emotions from Caroline and Richard.


She opened her eyes, not really sure what it was that woke her. She stared into the darkness and tried to make out some of the shapes in her room. Slowly her sight began to improve. She turned her head and glanced at the right side of her bed. She saw the contours of a man next to her. She could hear his regular breathing. He was soundly asleep. And then she suddenly heard it again, the sound that woke her. It was her own stomach waking her up. She pulled back the blanket and stepped out of the bed.   
  
She tiptoed her way into the kitchen, careful not to wake the man in her bed. She opened the fridge: a piece of cheese, two carrots and half a carton of milk. She closed the fridge and opened the cupboards, looking for some decent food. There was nothing there but some dried out bread and coffee.   
  
She sighed. "What am I gonna do with coffee? I need to GET to sleep, not stay out of it!" she thought. Meanwhile her hunger seemed to be getting worse. She looked around the kitchen, trying to find something edible. Then her eyes fell on a key that hung next to the fridge. She thought of something....but she couldn't. Or could she? "Well, why the hell not?" she asked herself. "I steal Caroline's food during the day, so why can't I do it at night? She won't mind. And this way she won't even notice it."   
  
Annie walked over to the door and took her robe off the coat rack. She glanced at the man in her bed one more time to make sure he was still asleep. Then she put on her robe and slipped out of her apartment, gently closing the door to make as little noise as possible.   
  
She walked over to Caroline's loft and let herself in, using her key. She entered Caroline's loft but didn't turn on the light, avoiding every possibility of waking Caroline. She snuck up to the fridge, opening it very carefully.  
  
"What are you doing here, Annie?"   
  
Annie shrieked and jumped in the air.   
  
"My god, Caroline! What are you sitting in the dark for?" she asked, placing a hand over her racing heart, trying to slow it down. There was no answer; just a soft sobbing could be heard. She squeezed her eyes together and tried to see where Caroline was, 'cause there was still no light. She couldn't see anything though. Annie walked over to the light switch next to the door and turned on the lights.  
  
And there she was: Caroline sat in the corner of her couch all curled up. She was wearing her flannel pajamas and she was clutching a handkerchief in her hand. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was wiping away tears that kept running down her face. Annie rushed over to her and sat down next to her on the couch, placing an arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Hey, what's the matter? Why are you crying?"   
  
"Oh Annie, I've done something really stupid." She said, her voice cracked up with tears "A couple of hours ago I left a message on Richard's answering machine telling him I loved him, and that if he didn't feel the same he shouldn't call back. And I haven't heard from him..."   
  
She blew her nose and wiped away some more tears.   
  
"Well look don't think the worst, maybe there's a reasonable explanation for all this." said Annie in an attempt to comfort Caroline.  
  
"No Annie, I blew it. He probably took off with Julia and now he's gone for good." she sniffed.   
  
"Wait a minute, who's Julia?"  
  
"She's his old girlfriend from Italy, and she came to New York and Richard and I were doing this whole fake marriage thing...- "  
  
Annie looked at her in confusion.  
  
"I'll explain later, " Caroline continued "and then I saw him kissing Julia and I just got jealous. You know, really jealous."   
  
"Yeah I understand," said Annie.   
  
"You do? But I haven't even told you about my feelings for Richard yet."  
  
"Caroline c'mon, it's so obvious you two are meant to be together."   
  
"Yeah? Well could you go and tell Richard that? He doesn't seem to feel the same."   
  
Caroline brought the handkerchief up to her eyes, trying to stop another flood of tears.   
  
"Sure he does, I'm positive." Annie hated to see her friend so miserable.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Um...I , I um..- " Annie hesitated. Should she tell Caroline about Richard's letter or not? She decided not to. Richie would kill her if he found out she told Caroline. "I just know, trust me"  
  
Caroline leaned her head down on Annie's shoulder and they just sat there waiting for the hours to pass, hoping Richard would call back....  
  
Richard took a deep breath and pulled up a chair next to Julia as he turned to face her. "Look Julia, I have to be honest with you. I don't mind taking you in as long as you have no place to go. You can stay here as long as necessary. But I have to tell you, we're not getting back together."  
  
"But Reechard, why can't we try one more time? We're perfect for each other! This is sincere amore, huh?" she asked while placing her hand on his cheek. Richard glanced down and sighed before looking up at her again.  
  
"No, it isn't. If it was, you wouldn't have left me."  
  
"But it was a three million dollar trust fund!" Julia argued.  
  
"I'm sorry Julia, it's over. You're not my sincere amore."  
  
"It's Caroline isn't it?"  
  
Richard look up at her rapidly, his eyes widened.   
  
"No need to answer that, I already know!" Julia said angrily. She grabbed her coat and headed for the door. Richard walked after her.  
  
"Wait Julia, just because we're not getting back together doesn't mean you have to go, I don't want to be responsible for you wandering the streets because you have nowhere to go."  
  
"Oh please! I have plenty of places to go, my father is rich, remember? I just said that so you'd take me in and I could get my second chance!" With that she slammed the door and left. Richard sat down on his bed hard and rested his head in his hands.  
  
The next day Richard arrived for work but when he entered the loft he didn't see Caroline anywhere.  
  
"Caroline!" he called "I'm here!"   
  
But there was no reply. No cheerful 'good morning' calling and no Caroline bouncing down the stairs. He walked over to the partners'desk to see if there was a note from Caroline but nothing was there. At that moment the door swung open and Annie walked in.   
  
"Richie!" she said, not able to come up with a good way to start a conversation. How was she going to find out why he didn't call back without asking him? She just stood there, pondering over what to say to him. Her thoughts were interrupted by Richard.  
  
"What? No shots today? Has that show finally made you develop the IQ of a cat?"  
  
Normally she'd tell him off when he insulted her like that but now she was just too caught up in her thoughts to bother. Why was he standing there like nothing had happened? Where was Caroline? Maybe she was still asleep. It had taken until 5.30 a.m. before Caroline finally fell asleep, exhausted from crying.   
  
Richard looked at Annie suspiciously. Something wasn't right. She didn't even try to insult him today and he'd given her the perfect opportunity to do so. And now she was just standing there, not even trying to annoy him. He was certain; there was something weird going on. First Caroline was gone and now Annie seemed not quite like herself, which wasn't a bad change he had to admit. But still, he didn't trust her. What was going on? Maybe she knew where Caroline was?  
  
"Annie, have you seen Caroline today? She wasn't here when I came in just now, and there's no note."  
  
"I don't know, maybe she's sick. I'll go and check if she's upstairs, you just wait right here" she held up her hand to emphasize her words and make clear to Richard that he shouldn't go upstairs.   
  
"Don't worry Annie, I wouldn't just walk into someone's bedroom, we're not all like you."  
  
Again no reply. This was getting weirder by the minute. As if he would just walk into Caroline's bedroom, what was Annie thinking?   
  
Annie knocked on Caroline's door. There was no answer. Carefully she opened the door a little and peeked around the corner. Caroline was lying in bed, she was asleep. Annie walked over, sat down next to Caroline and tapped on her shoulder, trying to wake her. She was so fast asleep though that she didn't wake up. Annie nudged her a couple of times and eventually Caroline's eyes fluttered open. At first she seemed a bit dazed but within a second she remembered what had happened the night before and she sat up in bed.  
  
"My god, Annie? What time is it? Richard will be here any minute and I have no idea how to act around him or what to say to him!" She jumped out of bed and walked over to her closet. Hastily she started to look for something to wear.   
  
"Hun, he's already here."  
  
Caroline froze, then slowly turned around to face Annie.   
  
"Oh my god, oh my god! What am I gonna do? How did he act? Did he say anything to you?"  
  
"Well, actually he didn't say anything to me about it but he seemed a bit distant though. I mean, more than usual. Could be a good sign....." Annie tried.  
  
"Why would he say anything to you about it? You'd be the last person he'd discuss this with. Can't you just tell him I'm sick? I don't think I can face him after what I said last night."  
  
"Caroline, you have to face him, you have to talk about this. You won't know until you give it a try. Maybe he does feel the same way."  
  
"If he did he would've called back, Annie!" Caroline suddenly yelled, her eyes filling with tears. She pressed the back of her hand against her lips to repress a sob.   
  
Meanwhile Richard had started on the three panels he hadn't gotten around to yesterday. He could hear all sorts of noises coming from upstairs. He heard Caroline and Annie but he couldn't make out what they were saying. First he tried to understand what was being said but then he gave up and concentrated on the panels he was coloring.   
  
Caroline wiped away a few tears from her face then shook her head, as if she tried to shake off her sorrow.   
  
"You'll be fine, just talk to him. Avoiding him will get you nowhere."   
  
"I can always fire him, then I'll never have to face him again" Caroline joked with a painful smile.   
  
Annie smiled at her, then stood up.   
  
"Look, I'm gonna go home now so you two can talk. Remember, I'm right across the hall." She hugged Caroline and opened the bedroom door.  
  
"I'm just gonna go freshen up and then I'm gonna go down to talk to him. Can you tell him I'll be right out?"  
  
"Sure."   
  
Annie descended the stairs. Once she got down she noticed Richard was sitting at the partners' desk. He looked up when he heard Annie.  
  
"Bye Richie, Caroline will be right down" she said as she headed for the door.  
  
"Annie, wait." He walked over to her. "What's going on?"  
  
"What do you mean? Everything is fine. Caroline just overslept. She'll be right down."  
  
Annie opened the door but Richard pushed it shut again angrily.  
  
"Look Annie, don't treat me like an idiot, I'm not one of your dates!"  
  
That was it. She'd let the two previous insults pass because she was too caught up in her own thoughts. But after seeing how he'd hurt Caroline by not calling back she couldn't restrain herself anymore.   
  
"I beg to differ! You know Richie, you're always so full of yourself! Because you've read so many books and you've had more education, you think you're better than us. But you know what? When it comes to real life issues you are an idiot! If you're so damn smart then why can't you understand how difficult this is for Caroline? A simple phone call wouldn't have killed you, you know!"  
  
She opened the door again and stepped out into the hall. She walked over to her apartment, followed by Richard who was now totally confused. He didn't understand why she'd gotten so mad all of a sudden and what did she say about a phone call?  
  
"Annie what the hell are you talking about? I don't understand."  
  
"I rest my case!" she said. She entered her own apartment and closed the door, leaving an astonished Richard in the hallway. For a moment he just stood there, too amazed to respond. Then he knocked on Annie's door.  
  
"Look Annie," he called "I'm sorry if I...- "  
  
"Don't apologize to me, it's Caroline you should be worried about!" Annie called from inside her apartment.   
  
And worried he was. He felt like he'd walked into the wrong apartment this morning and ended up in a different world. Annie was mad at him, apparently Caroline was, too. What did he do? Was it just because he'd kissed Julia that night? She couldn't still be mad at him about that?   
  
He walked back into Caroline's apartment. Just when he closed the door Caroline came down the stairs.  
  
"Good morning Richard" she said.   
  
It sounded more like a question than a greeting. It was plain to see she wasn't her usual perky self. When she got to the bottom of the stairs they just stood there for a moment, both feeling incredibly awkward about the situation and neither of them knew exactly why or what to expect. It was Caroline who spoke first.   
  
"Um...look Richard I thought we could start on the Easter cards today" she avoided his eyes while she spoke to him and turned around to go sit at the partners' desk.   
  
"Look Caroline, I don't know what's going on but I feel I owe you an apology. If this is about me kissing Julia, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."  
  
"Well actually, I was just wondering why you didn't call back last night. I mean, not that you had to, but I just really wanted to hear from you."  
  
"Call back? I never got a phone call from you."  
  
"Yes you did. I left a message on your answering machine. Didn't you get it?"  
  
"No I didn't, but my machine doesn't work well so,... what was it about?"  
  
"Um-...it was um-....."   
  
Caroline suddenly felt really nervous. Even more nervous than she had been before. All this time she'd been under the impression that Richard had gotten her message but didn't respond. She'd felt awkward being around him because she thought everything was out in the open and now it turned out it wasn't. She could've prevented herself from a very painful situation if she'd just kept her mouth shut. He would never have known and now she was about to reveal her secret anyway.  
  
Damn, she wasn't prepared for this at all. At least last night she had had the time to prepare, gather up the courage to call and tell an answering machine instead of having to tell him. And now she hardly had a choice anymore.   
  
She could feel a warm scarlet blush spread across her cheeks and her heart started to pound.  
  
She inhaled deeply as if it was going to bring her some courage, looked him in the eye and then backed out again.  
  
"I..-it was nothing important really. I just wanted you to pick up some liquid paper. Because I'm..um-...out, so that's why I called, but hey, I'll just buy some myself later today."   
  
She was so bad at lying, where did she get these lies from anyway? Liquid paper? Who was gonna believe that?   
  
"Okay then. Glad that's cleared up."   
  
Richard walked over to the partners' desk and sat down. He took his coloring pencils and bent over his work. Surprised at his credulity, Caroline stared at the top of his head for a moment. Wow, he actually bought that! She must be a better liar than she thought. She picked up her own pencil and tried to relax a little, now that she had escaped an awfully painful revelation. She could feel the heat slowly leaving her cheeks and her heart rate came down a little.   
  
They worked quietly for several hours, only speaking a few words to one another. At lunchtime Richard said he was going to go out for lunch. He put on his long overcoat and walked out into the hallway, straight to Annie's loft. He knocked on the door and Annie opened it.   
  
"Okay, spill." he said.  
  
"Didn't you talk to Caroline?"  
  
"If you want to call it talking. She said something about a message on my answering machine which I never got and when I asked what it was about she tried to cover up with some lame story about liquid paper."  
  
He didn't believe that story for a second. He knew her too well. He could tell within a second when she was lying, it was so obvious. Her cheeks had reddened and her eyes had averted to the ceiling in order to avoid his. Not to mention the fact that she'd stuttered while trying to make up a lie. A small smile formed on his face. It was quite adorable to see her lie, she was almost like a little kid at that moment. It made him even more anxious to find out what was going on though.   
  
"Besides," he added "she hardly said two words to me all morning. Now, you can't tell me that's normal."  
  
"Okay, I'll tell you, but only because I have Caroline's best interests at heart not because I'm betraying my friend."  
  
"Cut the after school special already and just tell me."  
  
"Hey, do you wanna know or not?"  
  
"Yeah, sorry."  
  
"Okay then get in and sit down."  
  
Richard entered Annie's apartment and sat down on the purple sofa, not bothering to remove his coat. Annie closed the door and chained it as if it was going to secure the fact that she was about to reveal Caroline's secret to Richard.   
  
Annie sat down at the end of the sofa. She was in dilemma for a few seconds about how to tell him, but then she decided to be blunt about it.   
  
"Caroline's in love with you."  
  
"WHAT?!?!??"  
  
"Yeah, it's true. Man, I can't believe I'm telling you this. She left a message on your answering machine last night, telling you she loved you and that if you didn't feel the same you shouldn't call back. And since you didn't call......."  
  
"Julia...." Richard whispered.   
  
All of a sudden everything fell into place. His thoughts raced through his head. First there was joy. He couldn't believe his ears! Caroline was in love with him! How long he'd waited to hear this!   
  
Then he felt confusion, why didn't he get her message?  
  
Finally he felt anger. Julia, that's why. It all made sense. When he was in the bathroom he could've sworn he'd heard something but Julia had told him it was just some woman trying to sell him something. It must've been Caroline. It must've been. Unconsciously his hands formed fists, so angry he was at Julia. It was a good thing she wasn't still staying at his apartment because he would've kicked her out right away. How dare she to spoil his chance with Caroline? To prevent him from hearing the words he'd wanted to hear for so long? He decided not to waste any more thoughts on her. She wasn't worth it. There was room only for overwhelming joy. A broad smile spread across his face.   
  
When Annie saw his eyes lit up and a smile forming, she knew she'd done the right thing. Sure, Caroline would be a little mad at her for telling Richie, but eventually she'd thank her. They belonged together and frankly she was getting tired of watching the two of them circling around each other all the time, both too afraid to make a move.   
  
"So, what are you gonna do now?"  
  
Annie's words pulled Richard out of his reverie, back to reality.   
  
"Huh? Oh, I don't know. I guess I should go tell her I know, shouldn't I?" he said sheepishly.   
  
"Yeah or you can wait another year, why not? Could be fun." Annie quipped.  
  
"You know what? I'm not going to tell her I know yet. I'm going to think of something to surprise her with tomorrow."  
  
"Wow, you can wait that long?"  
  
"Annie, I've already waited for two years, one more day isn't going to kill me. Believe me, it won't. I've begged for that to happen a million times and it never did."  
  
"Funny, so did I."   
  
Richard just smirked at her, he was too happy to care about that remark. Besides, if it wasn't for Annie he might never have known. Poor Caroline, she must've thought he didn't care about her when he didn't call. How could she think that? He loved her more than anything. He really had to fight the urge to run over to her apartment, scoop her into his arms and kiss her.   
  
"Tomorrow" he told himself. He had to hold on a little longer. He wanted this moment to be special, he wanted to surprise her.   
  
"Thanks for telling me, Annie." he said while he got up.  
  
"That's okay, let's just say you owe me big time."  
  
Her eyes wandered around her apartment. "Let's see what needs to be cleaned around here" she mocked.   
  
Once again Richard smirked and walked over to the door, removing the chain before opening it. With one foot already in the hallway he turned around one more time.  
  
"Annie, will you please not tell Caroline I know yet? I want to surprise her."  
  
"Sure, no problem. I have to work today anyway."  
  
"Well, thanks again. Bye."  
  
Richard turned around and closed the door behind him. He looked at Caroline's door. How was he going to sit across from her for the rest of the day while he knew about her feelings for him without acting on his own?? It seemed impossible. But he had to, there were so many things he wanted to say to her, he couldn't just blurt it out, he had to prepare this. Maybe he could invite her to dinner? Or a walk? Or go dancing? He had to come up with something more extraordinary than that.   
  
While he made his way over to the stairs he was too fixated on his thoughts to notice Mr. Tedescu, the super, coming around the corner. He almost bumped into him.   
  
"Look out!" Mr. Tedescu said with his thick Rumanian accent.  
  
"I'm sorry" was all Richard could say.   
  
"Well, it's okay, maybe you can help me, I have many other people in building I have to see. You work with 2A right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"Well, can you tell her and her friend, 2B, to keep all doors and windows properly locked? There was break-in at laundry last night, maybe they will be trying again."  
  
"Yeah, yeah sure, I'll tell her."  
  
"Okay, thanks. Bye"   
  
Mr. Tedescu turned around to go by the other apartments.   
  
Richard continued his way down, so many thoughts swirling through his head. He took off his glasses and rubbed his face. What was he going to do? Caroline was in love with him! Even telling himself those words made thousands of butterflies rise in his stomach. How wonderful would it be to hear those words coming from her mouth? He felt as if he was floating when he walked to Remo's. His life had never been this good. His life had never been good at all actually.   
  
He entered Remo's and cheerfully greeted Remo and Johnny who were behind the bar. They both looked at each other in amazement before Remo shrugged and brought over a menu to Richard.   
  
"Ah, Ricardo, how are we today?" he asked with curiosity, hoping he'd tell him why he was so cheerful.   
  
"Well, I never thought I'd say this, but good, actually."  
  
"Any particular reason?" Remo asked unsubtly.  
  
"Caroline's in love with me!" Richard said with a big grin from ear to ear.  
  
"Really? Magnifico! Congratulations Ricardo!" Remo said enthusiastically while giving Richard a kiss on both cheeks. "Where is Carolina?"  
  
"Whoa, whoa, Remo slow down a little. Caroline doesn't know yet."  
  
Richard laughed at the puzzled expression on Remo's face.   
  
"I mean, she doesn't know I know yet."  
  
"Oh I see. Why not?" he asked while he sat down next to Richard.  
  
"You have to help me. I want to surprise her tomorrow. Do you have any ideas?"  
  
"Let's see, I'm sure we can come up with something."  
  
At that moment Caroline walked in. She'd decided to join Richard for lunch and she guessed he'd probably be at Remo's. And she was right. There he was, sitting at a table talking to Remo. Remo? Richard was talking to Remo? Sure, he'd normally speak to Remo but now they acted as if they'd been best buddies for years. She walked over to their table.   
  
"Hi guys!"  
  
Remo jumped up. "Carolina! I was just discussing the menu with Ricardo. So, that's the lasagna, right?" he covered.  
  
"Um...yeah"  
  
Remo pretended to scribble down Richards 'order' on his notepad then walked to the kitchen, so busy avoiding Caroline that he didn't take her order.   
  
"Hey Richard" Caroline said with a smile. She sat down on the chair Remo had just left.  
  
"Hi" Richard breathed. Just the sight of her combined with his new found knowledge made him shiver with nervousness and excitement.   
  
"So...."  
  
"So...."  
  
"What's up with you and Remo?" she asked. "What were you two talking about?"  
  
"Oh you know, he was just taking my order, and he had this story he wanted to tell me so he sat down" Richard lied poorly.   
  
Now it was Caroline's turn to question Richard's answer. She could tell he was lying, he obviously didn't want to tell her what he and Remo talked about just before. She decided to leave it like that. She hadn't been exactly truthful either this morning, she had also acted vaguely and she didn't want to remind him of it.  
  
"Caroline? Do you think I could have the rest of the day off? There doesn't seem to be that much work left."  
  
"Sure Richard, but why do you want this afternoon off?"  
  
"There's just a few things I need to take care of, you'll see."  
  
There it was again, that twinkle in his eyes and this tiny smile darted across his lips. He'd had that look on his face when she came in just now. She'd never seen it before. She loved seeing him like that. Damn, another thing about him she needed to get out of her system.   
  
Richard got up. "Okay, see you tomorrow then?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. See you tomorrow."  
  
For this one time it was Caroline with the monotone voice and Richard who sounded awfully cheerful.   
  
He smiled at her in the most mysterious way, staring deeply into her eyes, before he turned around and left.   
  
The look he just gave her made a wave of tingles flow through her body.   
  
Richard grinned as he walked home. He couldn't seem to get that grin off his face anymore. And he didn't want to, he was the happiest man alive. Just a little more patience and they would finally be together. When he saw her again just now, he instantly thought of the perfect way to tell her he knew. It was so obvious, why didn't he think of it sooner? He did have a hard time keeping from her that he knew. She just looked so cute and somewhat helpless. "Just one more night Caroline," he mumbled, "and then we'll finally be together."  
  
When Caroline arrived back home she almost bumped into Annie who just got off the elevator.  
  
"Hey, Care." Annie greeted.  
  
"Hi Annie"  
  
"So, did you have a nice lunch?" Annie followed Caroline inside and flopped onto the couch, resting her feet on the cedar chest.   
  
"Yeah, it was okay although Richard acted a bit weird. For someone who didn't even get my message he's sure acting very strangely."  
  
"Really?" Annie feigned surprise.   
  
"Yeah, he just had this weird look on his face."  
  
"So, what's new about that?"  
  
"Annie....!"  
  
"Sorry, couldn't help it. Go on."  
  
"Okay, well I don't know, he seemed to be hiding something. I have no idea what he could be up to."  
  
"Nope, me neither." Annie said while getting up and heading for the door. She needed to get out before Caroline saw through her little act. "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" she changed the subject before Caroline got a chance to respond. "Well, I'm off, I have to get to the theater."  
  
"Well good luck! Any idea when you'll be home?" Caroline called after her since Annie was already into the hallway.  
  
"Dunno, could be pretty late. See you tomorrow." Annie went back to her own apartment to get ready.  
  
Caroline felt awful. Why wasn't Annie here tonight? She had a broken heart to mend. She really needed her support right now. She decided to just go to bed and get this horrible day over with.   
  
Richard arrived at his apartment. He had just arranged his surprise for Caroline, now the long wait began. There were still so many hours he'd had to get through someway before he got to see her again. Sure, he was familiar with this feeling because he felt that way every night when he got home but tonight it was different. Tonight it was worse because he knew she felt the same.  
  
For a moment he wondered if he should give up on his plan to surprise her and just go over there right now. But he decided not to. He had to be strong and hold on just a little longer.   
  
Hours later, it had gotten dark and outside the wind was howling around the building. Richard was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, knowing tomorrow his whole life was going to change. He didn't mind being awake. He couldn't think of a better dream than reality at the moment. He felt like a lovesick teenager....and he loved every minute of it.  
  
All was quiet and dark in Caroline's apartment. Caroline was in bed, sleeping. She'd spent the first hours in bed just crying over Richard. Eventually she'd managed to get to sleep and forget about reality for a moment by escaping in her dreams.  
  
Caroline slowly opened her eyes. She turned over to glance at her alarm to see what time it was. It was really late but since she'd gone to bed so early she couldn't sleep anymore. She sat up in bed, trying to decide what to do now.   
  
Suddenly she heard a noise downstairs.   
  
"Dammit Annie, not again." she mumbled to herself while getting out of bed. She walked down the stairs, into her living room. She didn't see Annie though. She switched on the lights and walked over past the partners' desk, headed towards the bathroom.   
  
"Annie could you just buy your own food in the fu-.."  
  
Suddenly a strong arm tightened around her neck and another one grabbed her arm. Caroline tried to scream, but a hand was placed over her mouth. She gasped for air and she clutched the arm around her throat in an attempt to get some air, but he was too strong. Caroline struggled to get loose.  
  
"Calm down." The man whispered. His mouth was so close to her ear she could feel the warmth of his breath striking past her cheek. It gave her goose bumps over her entire body. "Just tell me where your wallet and credit cards are and I won't hurt you."  
  
She tried to speak, when the man noticed he removed his hand from her mouth. Caroline breathed heavily a couple of times, trying to get some air before she spoke. "Please let go of me, I'll get you money." Her voice trembled, as did her entire body.   
  
"Okay, but no tricks." The man warned her.  
  
"I promise" she whispered.  
  
He slowly lowered his arm, releasing her. She appeared calm as she walked over to the living room, but suddenly she made a dive for the phone. She grabbed it off the counter and tried to dial 9-1-1.   
  
"You shouldn't have done that!" the man yelled and dove on top of her, knocking the phone out of her hand. It hit the counter, then fell and bounced against a barstool before hitting the floor.   
  
Richard was still staring at his ceiling in utter happiness when the phone rang. "Who would call at this hour of the night?" he thought out loud. The thought crossed his mind that it might be Caroline, trying to tell him about her feelings again like she tried the night before. Richard stepped out of bed and walked over to the phone. He picked it up   
  
"Hello?" he said expectantly.  
  
He didn't hear anything. Caroline's phone had hit the speed dial button during its fall and it had dialed Richard.   
  
"Hello?" he tried again.   
  
No answer. He lowered his arm to hang up the phone but then changed his mind and raised his arm again. He listened very carefully and after a few moments he could swear he heard something. It was a man's voice. And then he heard something else: it was Caroline's voice and she was screaming!   
  
"Caroline!" he yelled in desperation.   
  
His heart started to pound and his body trembled with fear. Caroline was in danger. HIS Caroline.  
  
Suddenly it hit him: Mr. Tedescu had warned him about burglars and how they might come back. He was supposed to have warned Caroline but ironically, he had been too caught up in his feelings for her, she was now in danger, because of him. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her. God, how could he have been this stupid? If only he had given her the message, then this might not have happened.   
  
He hung up the phone, then immediately called 9-1-1 while he put on some clothes. He ran out of his apartment on his way to hers, if only he wasn't too late!  
  
  
  
Richard ran into Caroline's loft. He immediately spotted her. She was sitting on the floor against the counter and her feet and hands were tied up. She had tape over her mouth and her eyes were filled with tears that occasionally dripped onto her cheeks. Richard rushed over to her and gently removed the tape from her mouth.   
  
"Caroline..." he whispered. He touched her cheek and wiped away some of the tears that now freely flooded.   
  
"Richard, I'm so glad you're here..."   
  
It was barely audible. Her voice was still trembling with fear. It broke his heart seeing the woman he loved like this. And knowing it was all his fault....  
  
He started to untie her feet and hands. As soon as they were loose he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She circled her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. She felt so safe now that Richard was here. She'd been so scared. Richard scooped her into his arms and carried her to the sofa where he gently sat her down. He wanted to get her some blankets or maybe something warm to drink but she didn't remove her arms from his neck. She pulled him as close as possible as if she was afraid he'd leave her.   
  
"Did he hurt you?" Richard was actually afraid to ask, not sure if he was able to cope with the possible answer to his question. But he needed to know.   
  
"No, I was just really scared. And he took my wallet and some other stuff." She leaned her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Caroline, I'm so sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am for all this." He raised his arm to touch her hair and stroke it gently to comfort her.  
  
"It's not your fault Richard." Caroline sat back a little to face him.   
  
"Yes it is." He stared down while he spoke. He felt so guilty, he didn't have the strength to look her in the eye and tell her it was his fault she got robbed.   
  
"What do you mean?" she tilted his chin with her hand, forcing him to face her.   
  
"I saw Mr. Tedescu yesterday, he said there had been a break-in in the laundry and that they might try again. He asked me to tell you and Annie to keep everything properly locked and I just forgot. I'm so sorry Caroline, I just-"  
  
"Shhh... It's okay. Even if I did lock everything, he would've gotten in if he really wanted to. I can't blame you just because you forgot to tell me. Besides, I'm okay. That's the main thing." She touched his cheek and smiled gently at him to let him know it was alright.   
  
"I'm so glad you're okay, I was so afraid he would hurt you."  
  
"I know, I was too. I'm glad you're here now Richard. You make me feel so safe."  
  
"I do?"  
  
"Yeah..." she smiled awkwardly at him as she gathered up the courage to tell him something she'd already tried to tell him about 24 hours ago.  
  
"You're always there for me Richard"  
  
"That's because I care about you" he took a deep breath before he continued.   
  
"I love you, Caroline."  
  
Even though he knew she felt the same it was still difficult for him to tell her about his feelings. So much had happened since he found out.   
  
Caroline chuckled and blinked a couple of times as if she was trying to wake up from a dream.   
  
"You love me?" she asked. Her face beamed with joy.  
  
He nodded. "I've been in love with you for a long time Caroline, I wanted to tell you a couple of times but I never had the courage."  
  
"I love you too, Richard" she whispered. She softly brushed her lips against his before tightening her arms around his neck once more.   
  
He pulled her to him and kissed her back with an intensity he never thought possible. It felt as though all those feelings he'd kept bottled up inside were expressed in this one kiss.   
  
Caroline felt a tingling sensation originate in her toes and as the kiss intensified, so did the feeling. It spread from her toes all the way through her body. It made her knees weak and a warm glow rise in her chest where her heart was pounding like crazy. Her eyes teared up again, but this time it had nothing to do with fear or sorrow. It was utter emotion and happiness.   
  
She'd waited so long to kiss Richard. And it felt amazing. She weaved her hands through his hair as his hand stroked her back while the other rested on her hip. Richard had dreamt of this moment hundreds of times but in none of those dreams did it feel as incredible as it did now.   
  
He slowly pulled away. Caroline's lips lingered close to his for a moment before she opened her eyes to gaze into his.   
  
"I have a confession to make" he breathed. "I already knew about your feelings for me."  
  
"What? How did you know?"  
  
"Annie. She told me yesterday."  
  
Caroline sat back and tried to get her thoughts into order.  
  
"Annie told you? When? How? I mean, why? She was supposed to keep it a secret. Besides, since when does Annie tell you anything?"  
  
"I guess she just saw we belonged together and wanted to help. You're not mad, are you?"  
  
"No, of course not. I'm too happy to be angry with her. But there's one thing I just don't get. If you found out about my feelings for you yesterday, then why didn't you tell me then?"  
  
Richard blushed and he smiled sheepishly at her. He still felt so stupid. If he'd only gone to see her straight away, none of this would've happened.  
  
"Well, I wanted to surprise you later today, that's why I wanted yesterday afternoon off. But that's also why I forgot to give you Mr. Tedescu's message."  
  
"A surprise? For me?" Caroline smiled. She snuggled up to him. "What is it?"  
  
Richard's lips formed a mysterious smile.   
  
"You really want to waste even more time on that?"  
  
"Guess not" Caroline smiled and she pulled him close again for another kiss.  
  
Their kiss was interrupted by the police who rushed in through the open door Richard never bothered to close.   
  
"Oh, I'm sorry" one of the cops said when he saw Richard and Caroline on the couch together, still embracing. "We got a phone call about a burglary here."  
  
Caroline slowly came back to reality and loosened herself from Richard's embrace before getting up. Her knees still a bit weak from the kiss, she walked over to the police officer.   
  
"Yes, that's right, I was robbed. The burglar took off with my wallet and some other things. Here, I'll show you." Caroline said while taking the officer by the arm and guiding him into the living room.   
  
"Well, um...usually my first question would be if you're alright, but I guess I can skip that one, can't I?" the officer grinned while looking back and forth between Caroline and Richard who were staring at each other.   
  
"Yes, let's just get down to question two." Caroline smiled.   
  
She gave Richard a wink and he smiled back at her before she turned around to show the officer what happened.  
  
The end. 


End file.
